


Turn Out the Lights

by B3_B0



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Han is a good friend, Luke is a human disaster, Post-Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Sleep Deprivation, Sleepy Cuddles, Sleepy Luke, and we love him anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:01:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26036086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/B3_B0/pseuds/B3_B0
Summary: The Emperor has fallen, the Death Star has been destroyed, and the rest of the Empire has been all but wiped out. So why can't Luke just sit down and rest?
Relationships: Leia Organa & Han Solo, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker & Han Solo, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Luke Skywalker & Han Solo
Comments: 4
Kudos: 48





	Turn Out the Lights

Luke was tired. Not that he could sleep, of course. Despite defeating the emperor, he still felt like he had the weight of the galaxy, the weight of a whole Jedi Order, on his shoulders. With everything that had happened in the past week, he found it incredibly hard to just lay down. The Rebellion still had its work cut out for them in getting rid of what was left of the fading empire, and Luke carried that burden with him every night. On the off-chance he did sleep, his dreams were filled with sharp lightning, burning homesteads, and a father he never really had the chance to know. He found, despite the tiredness, he preferred the waking world to the haunting dreams.

Which was why he was in the cargo bay tracking shipments coming in late at night. He knew there were others that could do the job, and many people had even told him he, the big hero who blew up the Death Star and destroyed the Emperor, should take a break. Luke knew, however, that he would only drive himself crazy doing nothing and waiting for bad dreams to come. Rebel leaders acquiesced, seeming to realize he needed to keep his hands busy. There was nothing hard about this particular job, but it was enough to keep himself busy and his mind off of other unpleasantries.

From his spot, he heard the doors open behind him. He turned to see Leia, _his sister_ , come through.

“Luke? I wasn’t expecting you to be up,” she said, walking up to him.

Luke smiled. “Hey, Leia. I’m just helping take inventory tonight.”

Leia looked at him. “Luke, you’ve been working all day. I’m sure someone else can do this.”

“Really, it’s fine,” Luke said. “I’m not really that tired, anyway.”

“You seem pretty tired to me,” Leia noted. She took a good look at him. “When was the last time you slept?”

Luke wilted under her gaze. “It’s been a little while,” he admitted.

“Uh huh,” she said, unimpressed. She took the data pad from his hand.

“Leia!” Luke protested, reaching for the pad, but with one stern look, he stopped fighting.

“I’ll finish up here,” she said. “You,” she pointed, “Get some rest.”

Luke sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to win this argument. He turned to leave the room before Leia’s gentle hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him.

“I’m not trying to boss you around, I’m just worried about you,” she admitted, looking up at him.

“I know,” Luke said. “I know you’re just looking out for me.”

“Someone has to,” she teased. She pulled him into a hug. “But, seriously,” she admonished, “Rest.”

Luke didn’t know how to tell her he couldn’t or that it’d be too much of a hassle to even try. Instead he squeezed her tighter and said, “Okay.”

He left the hangar and went back to his room. He didn’t bother to change clothes, but instead flopped on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He stayed in bed, doing nothing until enough time had passed that he thought the princess had gone to bed. Getting up, he made his way to the mess hall to get himself a cup of Caf, and get busy doing something else.

* * *

Han was going to kill Lando the next time he saw him.

 _Not a scratch on her,_ he had told Lando before they parted ways, Lando with the Millenium Falcon, and took out the second Death Star. At the time, Han had been ecstatic just to see her in one piece. Now, as he was scraping the carbon scoring off the hull and taking inventory of what needed to be replaced, he wanted to backhand the smooth-talking smuggler. Luckily, Lando was coming to base soon, which would allow Han to tell him just _exactly_ how he felt about the treatment of _Han’s_ prized ship.

He sighed looking at how much was left to be done. He definitely needed a break. As he was getting down, he noticed Luke in the hangar bay working on his X-wing. At least, that’s what Han _assumed_ he was doing. From where he was, it looked like Luke was just staring off into space.

“Hey Luke!” Han called. Surprisingly, he got no reaction. Luke continued standing and staring off. Maybe Han hadn’t been close enough for Luke to hear. He started walking toward him.

“Luke, buddy!” Han tried again.

Still no response. Instead, Luke started moving, as if nothing had happened.

Now Han was concerned. Luke was circling his X-wing, as if looking for some kind of problem.

“Luke?” Han tried once again. This time, Luke looked around, turning to face Han.

He smiled tiredly. “Hey, Han, I didn’t hear you walk up,” Luke said.

“Yeah, you okay kid? You seem a bit spacey” Han questioned.

Luke shrugged, “I’m fine. Just got a lot on my mind,” he said.

Han did not think Luke was very fine. Up close, Han could see the dark shadows under his eyes. His posture was slouched and his pallor was a little pale. To put it lightly, he looked like bantha poodoo.

“Right,” Han said, unconvinced. “Hey, I was about to go to the mess hall and take a break, wanna come with?”

Luke sighed. “As fun as that sounds, I should probably keep working. I’ve got lots of…” he gestured around him, vaguely pointing at his toolkit, “stuff to work on.”

Han shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He paused. “You know, if you ever need any help with your _stuff_ , I’m always around.”

Luke smiled at that. “Thanks, Han.”

“Anytime, kid.”

Han was reluctant to leave him when Luke was obviously struggling with something, but he didn’t want to force a confession from him when he was deep in avoidance. Instead of going to the mess hall he made his way back to the Falcon partly to keep an eye on his ship, but more importantly to keep his eye on Luke. Sometimes he wondered if anyone in the rebellion dealt with their problems well. Han certainly didn’t and Luke seemed to be pushing himself to the brink. He could see Luke still clumsily working on his ship. Han didn’t know what Luke was doing and he wasn’t entirely sure Luke knew either. He didn’t understand why the kid didn’t just take a break. The empire was practically gone and Luke had had a major part in overthrowing it. Yet there he was, working away.

“Hey Scoundrel,” a voice said. Han turned to see Leia coming up to him, two cups of caf in hand.

“Leia,” he said cheerfully.

She handed him the caf and kissed him lovingly on the cheek. “Thought you might want some of this before you see Lando later.”

“Right,” Han said, still eyeing Luke as he tripped over a box on the floor.

Leia looked at him, eyes softening. “Everything okay?”

He looked at her, “Have you noticed anything weird with Luke lately?”

She sighed, “Luke hasn’t been sleeping lately,” she told him. “I’ve had to order him multiple times to stop and rest, but he keeps coming back out when he thinks I don’t notice.”

Leia rubbed her temples in frustrations. “I just don’t know how to get him to rest. I know if he just _sat down_ for more than 2 minutes, he’d conk out, but he won’t go to his room and he refuses to take any breaks.”

Han leaned against the Falcon, contemplating as he sipped at his caf. “I might have a solution,” he said.

“You do?” She said.

“Yeah, but unfortunately it involves Lando.”

* * *

Luke kept going.

He was clumsy, uncoordinated, and he was pretty sure he looked like a wreck even without tripping over his own feet.

But he was fine. Really. He was just a little tired, and maybe a bit tense. He just had a stress headache. So what if sometimes his eyes glazed over while he was working with heavy machinery? Nothing to worry about!

He kept himself busy working on scrubbing the carbon scoring off his ship. And when that task inevitably finished, he began scrubbing the entire fleet. He stopped scrubbing briefly to down another mug of Caf and then continued on. If he was lucky, he’d be tired enough to pass out and not dream. He just had to keep going until he couldn’t go any longer.

After he finished with the last X-wing, he could go scrub the Falcon for Han. Unfortunately, his arms were getting pretty sore. He supposed he could do inventory with 3PO since the protocol droid didn’t ask too many questions about his fatigue, but if R2 caught them, he’d be forced back into his room until he could escape again.

Maybe he could take a nice walk on the outskirts of base. Or do some lightsaber training or-

“Hey, Luke!”

Luke turned, taken out of his stupor by Han’s voice.

He waved. “What’s up, Han?”

“Lando’s back at base, so I thought we might all head back to the Falcon and just chat?” Han said.

Luke raised an eyebrow. “Lando? I thought you were still mad at him for the damage to your ship.”

Han chuckled lightly. “Me? Mad? Nah, not at all.”

Luke stared at Han.

“Okay, so I’m still mad, but I thought we could put that behind us for one night while we all just hang out. So, whaddya say?”

Luke mulled it over. He wasn’t really doing anything except busy work. And, besides, he’d be with friends. They’d be talking and he wouldn’t be alone in his own quarters staring at his ceiling.

Luke shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

Han looked relieved. “Great,” he said. Han then wrapped an arm tightly around Luke’s shoulders and lead him to the Falcon.

When they got on, Luke was immediately greeted by Leia, Chewie, and Lando.

“The man of the hour,” Lando said, bringing Luke into a hug.

“Please, we’re all here to welcome you back,” Luke said.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate you both,” Leia said. “Especially because you finally stopped working.”

“Oh ha-ha,” Luke shrugged. “Yes, I stopped. You’re welcome,” Luke said.

She smiled, giving him a small peck on the cheek.

Chewie growled his enthusiasm as Han led Luke to sit down in the booth where everyone was chatting over drinks.

“How have things been back in Cloud City?” Leia asked, sipping from her glass.

“The same, but very much different,” Lando said casually. “Which I suppose is the same everywhere in the galaxy now.”

“No small part in thanks to you,” Leia said.

Lando shrugged. “Couldn’t have done it without this old ship.”

“Yeah,” Han said. “My old ship.”

Luke listened to them talk, enjoying the nice atmosphere. He didn’t feel the need to add anything, just enjoy time with friends. He yawned, hoping it wasn’t too loud. Now that he was sitting down, he felt way more tired. He was glad no one was directly addressing him, as he didn’t think he’d be able to add anything meaningful to the conversation. Luke felt his eyes growing heavier.

He closed his eyes for just a second but found they would not open. Which was fine with him. Nobody else seemed to notice or care. Luke tried to keep listening to the conversation, but the words seemed so far away. He settled for listening to the cadence of their voices. It seemed to lull him even further away.

Han still had a protective around Luke’s shoulders and he found himself leaning further into the comfort of his arm and the booth. If Han noticed, he didn’t seem to care.

For the first time in a very long time, Luke felt safe. He wasn’t fighting a tyrannical rule. He wasn’t running from his own nightmares. He was among friends, and he was warm, and he was protected.

He drifted off to the sounds of quiet laughter and a feeling of belonging.

* * *

“…Is he asleep?” Han asked.

Leia closed her eyes and concentrated on Luke’s presence. She wasn’t too great at this Force thing, having just learned of her abilities and lineage, but with her brother it was easier to tell his emotions and feelings to other people. He felt muted and calm. He was breathing slow and steadily.

“I’m almost positive,” Leia said.

The group gave what felt like a unanimous sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Han,” Leia said. “For once, your idea actually worked.”

“For once?” Han said, indignantly quiet. “My ideas always work.”

Leia ignored him. “And thank you for joining us, Lando.”

“Anything to help Luke,” Lando said. He observed Luke’s sleeping form. “He seemed absolutely wiped out when he came in. It’s a wonder he was still standing.”

Leia sighed. “It’s a miracle he even came in. He was so determined to work himself to death.”

“Well,” Lando said, moving to get up, “I think I’m gonna make like the kid and head to bed.”

“Thank you again,” Leia said, hugging him.

Lando turned to Han. “No hard feelings about the ship?”

Han glared at him, a smile plastered to his face “None at all,” he bit, careful not to wake the sleeping man beside him.

Lando waved and then was off. Chewie, likewise, quietly growled his goodnight, cleaning up the empty glasses and cups on his way out.

Han looked at Luke’s sleeping form beside him. “I might have made one error in my foolproof plan.”

“You’re stuck,” Leia said, smirking.

“Guess I’m not moving for a while,” Han said.

“You want me to help move him? I think he’s asleep enough that we could gently move him off of you.”

“Nah, I don’t mind,” Han said. “Looks like the first time he’s slept in weeks. We wouldn’t want to spoil it by accidentally waking him.”

“You’re a good man, Solo,” Leia said.

Han shrugged, or tried to with Luke resting on his shoulder.

Leia stood up. “I’m gonna make cup of hot cocoa, you want anything?”

“I’m alright,” Han said, picking up a data pad and beginning to scroll through it.

“I’ll be right back then,” she said, kissing him softly as she passed.

As she made her way to the kitchen area, she reminisced on her relief now that Luke was finally resting. Getting him just to sit down made fighting a tyrannical dictatorship look easy. Leia was forever grateful for Han, not that she’d admit it to anyone. She was grateful for both of them, even if they drove her crazy.

She thought on all these things as she grabbed her cocoa and headed back. When she came back in, she noted not one, but two sleeping boys were sitting in the booth. Han’s feet were leaning on the table. His head was down, eyes closed. The data pad had fallen onto the floor below. Han’s arm was still draped protectively around Luke. And both of them had a smile on their faces.

Leia took in the calm scene before her in delight. Quickly and quietly, she snapped a picture of the two before grabbing a blanket and resting it gently over both of them. She decided to take their lead and head to Han and hers shared room to get some nice sleep herself, turning out the lights as she went.

**Author's Note:**

> This work was inspired by a piece of fanart by Kowroo on Tumblr. 
> 
> LINK: https://silvereddaye.tumblr.com/post/616119560269185024/kowroo-i-swear-ill-chill-with-the-star-wars
> 
> They actually have their own AU with this artwork that I didn't know about at the time so give them lots of love on this work and their other works! 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!!


End file.
